Elissa Kana

Elissa Kana is Instructor of Saxophone at Arkansas State University within the College of Liberal Arts and Communication, Department of Music. She is an accomplished saxophonist and music educator with extensive performance and teaching experience across the United States and internationally.

Research Interests: Her primary scholarly and artistic focus lies in saxophone performance, repertoire development, and pedagogy. As a passionate chamber musician, she emphasizes collaborative performance through ensembles such as the Colere Quartet and her saxophone duo with John Cummins. Her work bridges performance practice with educational outreach, particularly in single reed techniques and symphonic literature.

Awards and Recognition:

• Second Prize, International Saxophone Symposium and Competition (ISSAC), 2014
• Arden J. Yockey Scholarship for Woodwinds, 2011
• Northwestern University Concerto Competition Winner, 2009
• Featured Soloist, NASA 2021 Region 3 Conference
• Gold Medal, 2020 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition (Colere Quartet)
• First Prize, 2019 Plowman Chamber Music Competition (Colere Quartet)

Teaching and Advising: Elissa has served on the faculties of Monmouth College and the University of Northern Iowa. Since 2018, she has taught at the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp each summer. Previously, she was on the woodwind faculty at the Merit School of Music in Chicago. While no formal students are listed, her teaching spans applied saxophone, chamber music, and music fundamentals. She also held a teaching assistantship at the University of Iowa in both the saxophone studio and musicology area.

Ensembles and Performance Teams: Elissa is the alto saxophonist of the Colere Quartet, an award-winning ensemble recognized nationally. She also collaborates regularly with saxophonist John Cummins in a duo setting, premiering new works at major conferences including the World Saxophone Congress and NASA events. She was a member of the Iowa Saxophonists’ Workshop, touring Asia with performances in Hong Kong and Chengdu, China.